Configurations of inlet and outlets of air filled auxiliary tank of air seeders

ABSTRACT

A system for replenishing the supply of a particulate agricultural product in the tank of an air cart. A mixture of air and product comes out of a venturi delivery system and enters in a multiplicity of inlet hoses. Then the product enters into inlet tubes of various lengths and release angles from which product particles are gently spread strategically forming a pile that is more or less horizontal to ensure even feeding of meters during dispensing operations. Then the air exits through one or more fine screens to avoid product escaping as well and is conveyed through the exhaust hoses until reaching an air diffuser. The air diffuser has a series of varying size holes or louvers at the bottom so the air can come out at a uniform low velocity which minimizes any discomfort to nearby operators.

CROSS REFERENCED TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a divisional non-provisional patent application based on U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/464,821, filed Aug. 21, 2014, entitled,“CONFIGURATIONS OF INLET AND OUTLETS OF AIR FILLED AUXILIARY TANK OF AIRSEEDERS”, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to farm implements and, more particularly,to an air conveying apparatus for replenishing particulate material suchas seed, fertilizer, herbicide or insecticide in one or more tanks of anair seeder. The invention may be used with other farm implements such asplanters or fertilizer application equipment.

2. Description of the Related Art

Air seeder systems include a traction unit with an air cart in tow andfrequently include a third unit such as a cultivator either intermediatethe traction unit and air cart or towed behind the air cart.Agricultural implements that employ an air seeder system to apply seed,fertilizer, or other particulate material, either sub-surface or to thesurface of a farm field, typically have a material supply source such asone or more tanks that are loaded with the particulate material. Thetanks have or are associated with a metering device, which typicallyconsists of a rotating element, which meters the particulate materialfrom the tanks into a set of distribution channels, such as conduits,hoses, etc., for application to the farm field. In most systems, apneumatic source such as a fan or blower provides air to convey anddistribute material through the distribution channels. Periodically, thetank's supply of particulate material must be replenished. Typically, ascrew auger or belt conveyor feeds the material from a source such as asupply vehicle to the tank. Grain augers, conveyor belts and similarmechanical seed handling equipment may cause damage to certain types ofseeds. The conveying of canola seeds in particular is a delicateprocess. Seeds are expensive and physical damage to seeds may affecttheir germination and germination rate, thus, damage to the seeds whilefilling the tanks should be minimized.

A departure from these mechanical seed handling techniques is shown inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/301,717 filed Jun. 11, 2014. Thetechnique disclosed therein employs an air conveying system where an airflow, either from the air cart fan or from a dedicated pneumatic source,is supplied to a material reservoir, such as a seed hopper, where thatair flow passes through one or more restrictions to create a region ofincreased air velocity and reduced air pressure and a so-called venturieffect. The venturi effect essentially creates a suction effect tominimize the contact friction of particles against the bottom portionsof the hose and for ingesting as many particles as possible ofagricultural material from the hopper providing an air entrained flow ofmaterial. This air flow and material particles are conveyed to the tankwhere the material is deposited and excess air vented. The air conveyingsystems significantly reduce seed damage, however the potential fordamage to seeds and other fragile agricultural products remains.Moreover, the products tend to accumulate more in some tank areas thanothers resulting in a non-uniform product distribution and correspondingnon-uniformity of product delivery to the metering system.

What is needed in the art is a gentile yet efficient product handlingsystem for fragile materials.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an agricultural product air conveyorsystem which minimizes product damage and distributes the product moreuniformly within the tank.

The invention in one form is directed to a method of replenishing thesupply of a particulate agricultural material in the tank of a pneumaticagricultural material delivery system which includes the steps ofsupplying air from an air flow source to a hopper or other agriculturalmaterial reservoir and passing the supplied air through a restriction tocreate a region of increased air velocity and reduced air pressure foringesting agricultural material from the reservoir creating an airentrained flow of material. The flow of air entrained material isconveyed to the tank and gently released from multiple spaced apartlocations within the tank to provide a more uniform distribution ofmaterial within the tank. Excess air is vented from near the top of thetank.

The invention in another form is directed to an air cart which has apneumatic source for supplying a flow of air entrained agriculturalproduct from a cart product tank to be applied by a utilizationimplement to an agricultural field. The air cart includes an air systemfor supplying product to the cart tank. The product supply system has anair supply and at least one elongated conduit with an inlet near one endfor occasionally receiving product from a product supply source andmultiple spaced apart outlets within the tank for delivering product tothe tank. A venturi box has an air inlet for receiving air flow from theair supply and an outlet coupled to the conduit one end for providing aregion of reduced air pressure to draw product from the supply sourceinto an air flow. There is also an exhaust air system for venting excessair from the tank which has an inlet near the top of the tank.

In a further form of the invention, a pneumatic agricultural productdelivery system has at least one product supply tank, a pneumaticsource, and a plenum normally receiving air flow from the pneumaticsource. There is a metering system for supplying product from the supplytank and a plurality of distribution lines which extend from plenumoutlets to a utilization implement for applying air entrained product toan agricultural field. There is an air conveying system for occasionallyreceiving product from a supply source and delivering product to thetank to replenish the product supply in the tank. The air conveyingsystem includes an air flow source. There is a venturi box having aninlet and at least one venturi coupled to the air flow source, an inletfor receiving product from the supply source, and an outlet forproviding product from the supply source entrained within air flow fromthe pneumatic source. A plurality of supply conduits receive an airentrained product flow from the venturi box outlet and deliver the airentrained product flow to the product supply tank. Each conduit extendsinto the product supply tank for releasing the air entrained productflow and at least two conduits release their respective air entrainedproduct flows at different locations within the tank.

An advantage of the present invention is a more uniform distribution ofproduct within a tank and resulting more uniform feeding of product tomultiple metering devices.

Another advantage is a reduction in damage to fragile agriculturalproducts during a tank filling operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention,and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and theinvention will be better understood by reference to the followingdescription of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of an air cart part of an air seeder equipment,and may include an air conveying system for filling and refilling thecart tank according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of an air cart showing the air conveying systemof FIG. 1 and an exhaust air diffuser;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional representation of a product supplysystem incorporation the invention in one form;

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional representation of the productsupply system of FIG. 3 from the left side thereof;

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional representation of the air lock,fan and hopper portions of the product supply system of FIGS. 3 and 4showing a control valve in the tank filling position;

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional representation similar to FIG. 5,but showing the control valve in the tank sealed position;

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional representation similar to FIGS. 5and 6, but showing the control valve in a position to drain agriculturalproduct from the entire tank filling system;

FIG. 8 is an isometric view of the air lock, fan and hopper portions ofthe product supply system with the control valve in the tank fillingposition of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional representation of a pneumaticagricultural product delivery system incorporation the invention inanother form;

FIG. 10 is an isometric view of an air cart tank with air conveyingnozzles visible therein;

FIG. 11 is an isometric view of an air cart tank similar to FIG. 10, butwith alternative air conveying nozzles visible therein; and

FIG. 12 is an isometric view of an air cart tank similar to FIGS. 10 and11, but with a further variation on the air conveying nozzles visibletherein.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views. The exemplifications set out hereinillustrate embodiments of the invention and such exemplifications arenot to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in anymanner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2,there is shown an air cart 10 comprising a portion of a known pneumaticagricultural product delivery system which generally includes a tractionunit (not shown) which may be coupled to air cart 10 for towing the aircart 10 in the direction of arrow 12. The system usually includes as athird unit, a utilization implement such as an air drill (not shown) fora seeding, cultivating and/or fertilizing operation. As is known in theart, the air cart 10 has one or multiple large product supply tanks 14which store a certain quantity of the agricultural product, typically aparticulate material, e.g., seed and/or inoculant, or fertilizer, and ametering system that meters the particulate material from the tank ortanks 14 to the air drill. In addition to being mechanically linked withthe air drill, the air cart 10 and the air drill are interconnected byan air/product delivery system which includes a plurality ofdistribution lines. Air is supplied to the product delivery system by afan assembly or other pneumatic source sometimes mounted adjacent thefront of the tank 14 and near the metering unit. Alternately, the fanassembly may be mounted rearward of the tank or adjacent a side of thetank. As known in the art, the fan creates a turbulent air flow thatcarries particulate material metered by metering system into and alongair/product distribution lines to the utilization implement for applyingthe air entrained product to an agricultural field.

The supply of particulate material in the tank 14 is occasionallyreplenished from a supply vehicle. In the past the tanks have beenrefilled by auger or conveyor systems which may cause damage to fragilematerials. As shown in the aforementioned Ser. No. 14/301,717application, these mechanisms have been improved upon by an air materialdelivery system employing an air flow source such as a dedicated fan 16and motor. The supply of particulate material in the cart tank 14 isreplenished from a hopper 18 which receives material, for example, bygravity flow, from a supply source such as a truck or other deliveryvehicle. The material passes through a rotary feeder and air lockmechanism 20, and passes upwardly through hose 22 and, from tank inlet24, into the tank 14. The front end view of FIG. 2 includes an exhaustair diffuser 26 to be discussed later. When the material in tank 14requires replenishing, a supply source such as the agricultural materialreservoir or hopper 18 provides, by way of an air lock 20, a materialflow to be mixed with the air passing into the venturi region 28 (FIG.4). The air entrained material is then conveyed by conduit 22 from aventuri region outlet to replenish the material in the tank 14. Thematerial particles settle in the tank and exhaust air flows throughconduit 30 to the diffuser 26.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate some details of the rotary feeder and air lock20 and venturi region 28. The rotary feeder and air lock portion has acylinder 32 rotatable about an axis 49 (FIG. 8) in a counter-clockwisedirection as shown by the arrow in FIG. 3. The cylinder 32 has aplurality of wedge-shaped pockets such as 34 which take on product fromthe hopper 18 when opening upwardly and release product downwardly intothe venturi region after about one-half revolution. The cylinder fitswithin cylindrical sidewalls sufficiently closely to prevent anysignificant air passage. At around a five o'clock position, the materialfalls from the wedge shaped segments and is funneled by seed ramps intothe venturi region 28 below.

It is important to be able to purge the tank filling system, forexample, prior to an extended period of non-use or preparatory toutilizing the air cart with a different agricultural product. A valve 36is pivotable about a pivot 38 from the horizontal or 9 o'clock positionof FIG. 5 clockwise to the 12 o'clock position of FIG. 6. FIG. 5 showsthe valve in the normal tank filling position where air flow from theventuri nozzle 40 joins with agricultural material from the hopper 18and proceeds through the conduit 22 to the tank inlet. The valve mayalso assume this position during normal product distribution to maintainthe tank pressurized and aid material flow. When moved to the locationshown in FIG. 6, the conduit 22 is blocked and material is free to fallfrom the venturi region 28 emptying the hopper. Both the hopper and theconduit 22 may be emptied by moving the valve to the positionillustrated in FIG. 7. Returning to FIG. 3, this last feature may alsobe achieved by a simple drop floor 42 which may be opened to purge boththe hopper 14 and the conduit 22. A pair of slide valves 41 and 43 mayoptionally be included. Valve 41 is operable to isolate the hopper 14from the air lock 20 while valve 43 provides a similar function betweenthe air lock and the venturi region 28.

In FIG. 8, valve 36 is seen to be controlled by lever 45 shown in thefill position corresponding to FIG. 5. Rotation by ninety degreesclockwise about axis 47 moves the valve to the drain condition of FIG. 7while rotation by ninety degrees counter-clockwise moves the valve tothe tank sealed condition of FIG. 6. The motor 51 of FIG. 4 is fordriving the air lock cylinder about its axis 49 in the sense indicatedby the arrow. A grid 53 may be included to prevent large objects frompassing down the hopper and into the air lock.

With an air conveying system, there is a need for an improvedconfiguration of a multiplicity of inlet and outlet hoses to conveyproduct and air into the tank and to exhaust excess air properly fromthe tank into an air diffuser (or back into the air cart). In FIGS. 3and 4, the conduit 22 actually includes four separate inlet hoses ortubes 44, 46, 48 or 50 which extend into the tank four differentdistances each terminating in a downwardly directed nozzle 52, 54, 56 or58. The tubes extend into the tank different distances so that productis released from the nozzles at multiple spaced apart locations withinthe tank. This provides a fairly uniform distribution of product in thetank.

At the tank outlet is a porous media grid such as a set of staggeredparallel cylindrical rods 60 to minimize the probability of canola seedsor other product from reaching a vertical sieve or screen 62. Rods 60may be bolted or otherwise fixed to the tank ceiling. Perforated platescould also be employed. A rotary valve 64 selectively allows or preventsair from exiting the tank. Closing this valve pressurizes the tank andaids the normal product distribution process while opening the valvefacilitates air egress while refilling the tank. The valve may havebrushes on the perimeter which rub against the screen thereby cleaningthe screen each time the valve is opened or closed. The valve could belocated lower closer to the air diffuser where it would be easier toreach by the operator.

When open, valve 64 vents exhaust air from the tank by way of conduit 30to the diffuser 26 beneath the cart. A smooth and uniform air release isachieved through gradually larger openings along the bottom of thediffuser with the smallest opening 66 closest to the connection with theexhaust air conduit 30 where the air pressure is highest and the largestopening 68 most remote from the conduit 30.

FIG. 9 illustrates some variations on a system for gently replenishingthe material supply in a tank and returning exhaust air from the tank.The venturi box 70 provides an air entrained flow of agriculturalproduct to inlet hoses 72, 74, 76 and 78 which are coupled with inlettubes 80, 82, 84 and 86 within the tank 14. An inlet hose and tube pairsuch as 72 and 80 function as a supply conduit for conveying productfrom the venturi box to the tank 14. In FIG. 9, the tubes 80, 82, 84,and 86 extend into the tank different distances so that product isreleased from the respective tube ends at multiple spaced apartlocations within the tank.

Moreover, some tubes such as 86 release product in a generallyhorizontal direction while others such as 80 are directed obliquelydownward. This multiple outlet array provides a more uniformdistribution of product 88 within the tank than is achieved from asingle outlet. The uniform distribution, in turn, contributes to a moreuniform distributing of product through multiple product meters tomultiple distribution lines. Excess air is vented from the tank throughone or more exhaust system conduits or tubes 90 which have screen 92covered slots or other exhaust apertures. The screen 92 mesh is sized tohelp prevent seed or other product from escaping form the tank with theexhaust air.

In FIG. 9, the air entrained flow of material is conveyed to the tank asshown by arrow 94 and the flow of air entrained material is releasedfrom multiple spaced apart locations within the tank to provide a moreuniform distribution of material within the tank. The excess air fromthe tank is vented from a location above the inlet tubes 80, 82, 84 and86 by sieving the excess air through a screen 92 to minimize the egressof agricultural product from the tank. Excess air is vented from thetank as shown by arrow 96 and vented downward to an air diffuser 34beneath the tank as in FIG. 3. The diffuser of FIG. 9 receives exhaustair at each end and the diffuser vents may be uniform as shown, however,smallest diffuser vents 98 may be located closest to the exhaust lines90 and larger vents 100 nearer the diffuser center to provide a moreuniform exhaust distribution. When the exhaust air is diffused in thisway operator exposure to undesirable chemicals or other remainingparticles is minimized.

FIG. 10 illustrates one of many further possible configurations for thepresent invention. The tank 14 is shown in phantom with the interiorcomponents visible. The inlet tubes 102, 104, 106 and 108 extend variouslateral distances into the tank and are also spaced longitudinally(front to rear of the tank) from one another. Further the open tube endsmay be variously shaped or louvered to direct material flow downwardlyat various angles relative to vertical. The shortest tube 108 isdirected obliquely downward while the other tubes release their productin a generally horizontal direction. This configuration results in aproduct pattern which accumulates first near the tank end remote fromthe inlet as illustrated.

A more horizontal layer of product is achieved by the inlet arrangementshown in FIG. 11. All four nozzles 110, 112, 114 and 116 are directedvertically downward at intervals spaced laterally across the tank 14.FIG. 12 illustrates a technique for accumulating product more quicklynear the outboard ends of the tank. Here the central pair of nozzles 120and 122 are directed somewhat obliquely away from one another as are thelaterally outboard nozzles 118 and 124. The number of outlets or nozzlesas well as their location and direction may be deployed in various otherways to achieve any desired product accumulation pattern.

While this invention has been described with respect to at least oneembodiment, the present invention can be further modified within thespirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is thereforeintended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the inventionusing its general principles. Further, this application is intended tocover such departures from the present disclosure as come within knownor customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains andwhich fall within the limits of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of replenishing a supply of aparticulate agricultural material in a tank of a pneumatic agriculturalmaterial delivery system, by providing an air conveying system forreceiving the particulate agricultural material from an agriculturalmaterial reservoir and delivering the particulate agricultural materialto the tank to replenish the particulate agricultural material in thetank, the method comprising: supplying air from an air flow source tothe agricultural material reservoir; passing the supplied air through aventuri region to create a region of increased air velocity and reducedair pressure for ingesting particulate agricultural material from theagricultural material reservoir and providing a flow of air entrainedparticulate agricultural material, the venturi region including an inletand at least one venturi coupled to the air flow source, an inlet forreceiving the particulate agricultural material from the agriculturalmaterial reservoir, and an outlet for providing the particulateagricultural material from the agricultural material reservoir entrainedwithin air flow from the air flow source; operating a three positionvalve located in the venturi region to move the air entrainedparticulate agricultural material to the tank, wherein placing the valvein a first position drains particulate agricultural material front theagricultural material reservoir only, placing the valve in a secondposition drains from both the agricultural material reservoir and theventuri region outlet, and placing the valve in a third positionpressurizes the tank and permits the air entrained particulateagricultural material to move through the venture region outlet;conveying the air entrained particulate agricultural material through aplurality of supply conduits from the venturi region outlet anddelivering the air entrained particulate agricultural material to thetank, each supply conduit extending into the tank; releasing the airentrained particulate agricultural material from multiple spaced apartlocations within the tank to provide a uniform distribution of theparticulate agricultural material within the tank; and venting excessair from the tank.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the multiple spacedapart locations are all near a top of the tank and excess air is ventedfrom locations near opposite tank ends.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the step of venting includes passing the excess air from thetank downward to an air diffuser beneath the tank.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the step of venting includes sieving the excess air toprevent the egress of agricultural product from the tank.
 5. The methodof claim 1, wherein the step of releasing includes directing the airentrained particulate agricultural material from the multiple spacedapart locations at various angles.